They say you can master every skill on Earth if you practice for 10,000 hours. The problem is spending these 10,000 hours diligently learning about it and practicing. Speaking of dating, for example, you know what a good practice could seem like.

Nothing but Tinder conversations. (You thought the same, didn’t you?!). Getting your hands dirty… by typing the right letters helps you navigate the wild forests of online dating. You never know what comes up in the next swipe.

Experts say online dating is disrupting the way people date, and more: “Online dating has not only disrupted more traditional ways of meeting romantic partners, its rise also comes at a time when norms and behaviors around marriage and cohabitation also are changing as more people delay marriage or choose to remain single.”

I’ve read reviews from people calling out the app, but the reason why most of them don’t get results, it’s not the app, and neither are they beautifully edited pictures. (C’mon. We all click that Photoshop icon at times.) It’s the approach.

What matters at the end of the day, is whether you have found someone to express to, and have a nice conversation with. The Internet has made expressing yourself easier even for the shy ones. All you need is the courage to start with that first line and be honest about your intention while having fun.

Stop staying puzzled about who shall start the conversation first, and just go forward with your intuition. There are no actual one-size-fits-all… formulas for the perfect line, but surely there are approaches that have worked before, and eventually will work again.

How To Start A Conversation On Tinder

As you might have guessed, the wrong way it’s the most obvious one. Starting with a “Hi”, and you’ll end up next to the pile of unread or seen messages. When it comes to impressing someone online, you need to be a bit creative since people have already been bored of the ol’ methods and pick up lines. (more on this later)

However, if you want to make things on Tinder really work out, crafting the essentials well, it’s applicable to everyone. So, where do we start?

You Are Who?

Social media has shortened our attention spans significantly. Nearly 21 years after Microsoft’s research that claimed the average attention span to be 12 seconds, new studies showed this time coming down to eight seconds.

This means you have even less time and chances to impress now, so what goes first? We start with your bio. Keep your bio clean, and punchy. Your bio must either describe one of your most important traits or what you’d want others to highlight about you. Or both.

Your bio plays a mandatory role in your spicy messages being understood. If you start with a pun that has to do with running, the other person understands it better because your bio shows your connection to this hobby.

Start with a KISS

Now, after perfecting your bio, it’s time to actually start sending out messages that get replies. And things are simpler than you have thought. Your messages must follow the KISS rule. Keep It Short and Simple because, besides short attention spans, no one has time to read long love letters. (Trust me, I’ve tried!)

Write a message that’s personal, relating to the bio description, and profile picture. At the same time, keep the distance. Mentioning the person’s name for example is something that shows confidentiality you don’t yet have. The less uncomfortable situations you create, the higher the chances for the convo to flow smoothly are.